Any of these phrases sound familiar? I know I have heard many variations of them too many times to count. And honest to goodness, I applaud any and ALL healthy efforts to get healthy (read here, we do not condone or applaud crash diets, bingeing, or starvation). But here’s the thing, in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle and not let it be just a phase, we need to approach it in a more realistic and sustainable way.

As people who have maintained a healthy lifestyle for nearly a decade,

we have learned some very valuable lessons along the way and want to help in any way we can.

For my first year and a half of college, I had a stomachache nearly every single day. I went to the doctor multiple times and was just told that I was constipated and prescribed milk of magnesium. With no relief, I finally got tired of it and decided that maybe I should re-examine what I was putting IN my body that was causing me to feel like crap. So, I called the healthiest friend I had and did what she said. And the result…I started to FEEL better. That diet shift stoked the fire to a love affair with natural health and wellness. I will be the first to tell you that I have not done/cooked/chosen everything perfectly. There have been some disastrous recipes (read: muffins that my friends STILL tease me about) disgusting supplements, and greasy, ineffective personal care products along the way. But… we stuck with it. and as a result, for the better part of a decade, we have been able to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Healthy choices have become our natural go to, our default choices and habits. We want to help you.

We want to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle to make it sustainable and to avoid some of the pitfalls that we either made ourselves or see others make.

You are worth the effort it takes to be healthy. It is totally possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle and not be on a health roller coaster your whole life. Your God authored destiny is worth fulfilling, and it takes a healthy, strong body to do it. You CAN do this.

So here are some super helpful tips

to help maintain a healthy a lifestyle.

1. Do the best YOU can with what YOU have.

If you only walk away with one takeaway, let it be this. Do the best YOU can with what YOU have.

During Bible college, the best we could do was whole wheat bread with peanut butter for lunch and a multivitamin instead of fast food, ramen, and no extra vitamins. So we did it. We did the best we could. And you know what, God blesses that. Now, we are able to eat nearly 50% organic, sprouted grains or grain free, and have a very personalized supplement program from our natural doctor.

2. Be patient

We don’t get out of shape/overweight/sick in one day. We are not going to get out of that state in a day, or week, or even a month. Your body WANTS to be healthy and function well. God designed it that way, so be patient and give it time.

3. Keep healthy options on hand at home

It is SOOO much easier for me to say “no” to cake, cookies, ice cream (can you tell I like sweets?) at a party if I know that I have a healthy and delicious option waiting at home.

4. Know yourself

It is so much easier for me to eat zero of something I shouldn’t than just one. Oreos make my heart go pitter patter. But when I eat one Oreo I am highly likely to eat 5…

5. Don’t let one mistake turn into five

So you messed up and had one unhealthy meal or weekend, or you skipped one workout or week of workouts, so what? Do not throw your hands in the air and say forget it and sabotage all the hard work you’ve done so far. DON'T QUIT! Pick up where you left off and do better next time. YOU are worth the effort it takes to be healthy. Remember, this is about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, not about being 100% perfect all the time.

6. Be prepared to spend more money on food and supplements.

Healthy food costs more than junk food. Period. Better ingredients cost more to produce because they are actually grown in a natural environment and not mass produced in a lab. If I told you what our grocery store/supplement budget was for a family of 3, you would be shocked (and no, I’m not going to tell you.)

You may spend more on food, but in the long run

you will spend FAR less on medical bills.

7. Health is a journey, a lifetime commitment

I make different and better choices today than I did 10 years ago. I make better choices today than I did 5 years ago. The more I learn, the more I realize I still have to learn. Do the best you can with the knowledge and budget that you have.

Wisdom is multiplied. When you use the wisdom and revelation you have, you get more.

8. Know the “why” behind the choices you are making.

It is SO much easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle and stick with tough choices if you know at least some of the reasoning behind it. Don’t just “give up” sugar because your buddy says to. Know WHY refined sugar is not good for you.

9. Pack snacks.

Every single time you leave the house. For real. It makes it easier to say no to impulse buys or the glittery golden arches if you know you have something to hold off the hangry until you get home.

10. A healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be disgusting or miserable.

When we got married, Nate told me “I will eat healthy, but I will NOT eat gross food.” Deal. I’m not real partial to gross food either. Find or create recipes that actually taste good. I’ve got a grain free, refined sugar-free chocolate chip cookie recipe that is BOMB, y’all. Even my twinkie-eating friends think they are superb. (That’s my test, btw) The more you cook with healthy ingredients, the better you will get at it. You will probably have some failures along the way, and that’s ok. Pick yourself up, dust off, and go on.

You and your God authored destiny are worth the effort it takes to be healthy. It is totally possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle. You CAN do this. We believe in you.